On the Set
by Akira Sasaki
Summary: Amateur actress Natsuki Kuga lands in a hit series co-starring with seasoned Shizuru Fujino! What happens on the set? Sparks fly at the first meeting, and it's not the lovey dovey kind!
1. Chapter 1

"Kuga, Natsuki. Please enter."

An audible gulp was the only indication of nervousness from the tall, dark beauty as she heard the intercom. The lobby was empty apart from her, indicating that she was the last one for the day. Taking deep breaths to collect herself, the young woman stood up from the chair and silently walked up to the door. Focusing on the door, she paused for a moment before opening it, striding in with newfound confidence. Three heads turned towards her, faces forming polite smiles.

Facing her were two men and a woman. They sat at a long mahogany table, in front of each was a neat pile of paper, with a small photograph clipped on top. In the center of the room stood a single wooden chair.

Sitting between the two men was a lady who seemed well into her fifties. She spoke first.  
"Hello, Kuga-san. Please take a seat."

Natsuki carefully walked towards the chair and sat down. She was trembling inside, but was not about to let herself show it. She couldn't ruin her chances, especially not after all her all painstaking preparations.

The three judges nodded their approval.

This time, the middle aged man on the left inquired. "Kuga-san, which part will you be auditioning for today?"

Finally finding her voice, Natsuki looked determinedly at him. "I will be auditioning for Duran's master. I have prepared two monologues."

The judge who had questioned her smiled. He was already beginning to like her attitude. Strong and resolute, just what the casting director had asked for at the meeting. He looked at the younger man on the right of his female colleague and the other man caught his gaze. The younger man's eyes twinkled with mirth as they both returned their eyes to Natsuki.

Seeing the brief exchange of looks between the two judges only gave Natsuki more confidence as she acted out her first monologue.

It was a brief but concise monologue that covered the fierce dynamics of guilt and anger. Any normal audience would have shivered and cowered from her intense gaze or broke out in tears from the grief Natsuki conveyed. But these were professional judges, trained in only looking for absolute talent and skill. They knew this monologue very well, for out of the past 24 auditions, five of them had used the same one. Usually, using a repeated monologue was considered a disadvantage since they would all be rather repetitive and each would be easily considered not unique. Yet still, the judges could feel that this one was different. It rang out with such pure ferocity that they all had involuntary shivers from the wrathful look Natsuki had gave them, and they couldn't stop a heart-wrenching throb in their hearts when they watched her drown in sorrow.

"Thank you."

All three judges were shaken out of their trance from the rather abrupt ending, unknowingly holding their breaths for the next act. Natsuki took another deep breath as she concentrated on a memory she had as a child, and in the next blink, her eyes shone with immense happiness. In contrast to the last monologue, Natsuki had prepared one with a lighter tone to it and decided she would try to be subtle instead of the plain and fierce emotions she had always expressed in past auditions. This way, she would be able to finally show her ability in being versatile. Her decision proved to be worth her hard efforts as she watched the judges smile warmly back at her. She knew she had won them over.

As she finished her second monologue, the man on the far right stood and walked up to her, his previously warm smile now a wide grin. "Congratulations, Kuga-san. I believe you've just gotten the part."

"Director Ken!" The man on the left rushed to Ken's side and stared at her in awe and in fear. "Don't you think that's a bit too rash? I mean, there's still 30 auditions to see through tomorrow... not that Miss Kuga's wasn't-"

"I'm fully aware of the circumstances, Satoshi."

Emerald eyes widened slightly as they took in the status of the man in front of her and the congratulations he had just given her. "Um...I.."

"Of course, it won't be official until after two weeks. I hope to see you then." And with a flourish, he left the room.

Baffled and surprised, the older man Satoshi, nodded politely to be excused and left hurriedly behind the director. Before a bewildered Natsuki could exit the room, a soft rustle was suddenly heard, and Natsuki turned to face the forgotten female judge. With a faint but amused smile, the elder female said, "Congratulations, Kuga-san." And she breezed out of the room, leaving Natsuki in search of the two other judges.

As she stood there alone in silence, Natsuki felt like a bottle of champagne, with bubbles of excitement starting at her feet and bubbling up to fill her chest with happiness until she burst with a loud "Booyah!"

* * *

_Hello all, _  
_I'm extremely excited to have you reading this! It's my return since 2009 and after updating Unexpected, my mind couldn't help but wander.  
__No worries though, I'm starting a writing spree and have found my little plot chart for my other stories. _

_Although I'd be more than glad to divulge in my future plans for this new plot, I'll have to keep quiet for now... or else there would be no surprise! Hehe. _

_Hope you enjoyed! _  
_- Onyx_


	2. Chapter 2

"Mom! I got it! I got the part! Or at least I'm 99% sure I did!" Natsuki's enthusiastic voice resounded loudly through the hall as her roommate popped her head in.

"Hey, keep it down, would ya? I'm trying to finish this paper for tomorrow."

Midnight tresses whipped around as Natsuki turned abruptly to face her roommate.  
"Whoops, sorry." Her roommate started to trot back into her room as she heard Natsuki softly say, "I'll call you later, mom- yeah go ahead and tell dad. What? Grandma too? Wait no, I'm not sure-"

The cellphone's dial tone was heard.  
And so was one amused roommate's chuckle.

* * *

Natsuki Kuga was more than happy today. She was ecstatic.

She had waited for nearly 3 weeks, a week more than she originally had expected for the results of the auditions. Knowing she was almost assured a part since the day of her congratulations from the casting director himself, Natsuki was still eager to physically see it in person.

And that was why, a single untouched letter laid in her hands.

The emerald eyed female had received it this morning as she returned from her daily jog around the block. The mailman had impeccable timing, for as always, he had arrived at her doorstep at exactly 11:00am. She was glad to not miss her mail. Or maybe it was wiser to say that he didn't want to miss a greeting from a particular morning jogger.

The greetings and small talk had ended quite abruptly that morning when she realized the familiar name of the sender. One glance told her that she had finally received what she had been waiting for all along, and she quickly said her good-bye as she slammed her door not-so-friendly in the poor mailman's surprised face.

And that, is how she ended up with this untouched letter.  
Opening it, she saw:

_Dear Natsuki Kuga,_

_It is our pleasure to welcome you into our company. You have been accepted and given the role of "Duran's master". Please arrive on time on August 21st at 10:00am. We look forward to working with you._

_Sincerely,_  
_Sunrise Company_

Eyes glazed over with happy tears. The brisk congratulations before had her heart throbbing with doubt, but this letter had washed it all away with a sense of achievement. She was finally going somewhere with her career.

* * *

It was finally August 21st.

Steadying herself, Natsuki threw open the large double glass doors with confidence and walked into the building. As she neared the front desk, an amused receptionist raised an eyebrow and amiably asked, "Hello, may I help you?"

"Um, I'm Natsuki Kuga. I.. uh... I'm looking for-", she stuttered, suddenly losing her bravado.

"Walk straight over there and take the elevator to the 7th floor. You'll see a black door on your right."

"Eh? Wait, I didn't even finish talking yet."

"You've just been accepted for that new adaptation, haven't you? So you're looking for Director Ken right? Don't worry. I've been asked more than six times just now."

A sheepish grin made its way to Natsuki's face. "Heh. Yeah. Erm, 7th floor, door to the right. Okay. Thanks."

Suddenly, she realized something. Looking at her watch, she gasped at the minute hand. She had only 8 minutes left if she wanted to make a good impression on the director. And she did not want to be late for her first work appearance.

Hurrying as fast as she could, she dodged through the crowd of people waiting for the elevator as she squeezed in. Sighing a breath of relief, she looked around her. Several of the faces looked familiar as she remembered yesterday's family television episode and she really wanted to pinch herself in disbelief. Mentally getting a grip on herself, she blinked extra hard, refocusing.

"Um, excuse me... are you okay?"

Natsuki looked to her left and saw the owner of the female voice. A busty woman with a head of short orange hair stared back at her.

"Oh, I'm fine. Thanks."

"That's good to hear." The lady smiled and looked away.

The elevator emitted a ding and opened the doors to the 7th floor as its occupants quiety shuffled out. Natsuki watched as the woman she had talked with walked towards the black door on the right.

An excited Natsuki couldn't help but ask. "Oh, you've been accepted too?"

The other woman turned around. "Yeah, I couldn't believe- wait, you too?"

"Yep." Natsuki gave her a wide grin.

"I'm Mai. Tokiha Mai. You?" The woman Mai returned a bright smile.

"Oh, I'm Natsuki. Nice to meet you too."

As the two women walked through the door, loud happy voices and clapping noises startled them.

"Welcome!"

"Yeah, welcome to the family!"

"Hope you guys feel welcomed, 'cos we're gonna be stuck together from now on!"

Natsuki couldn't help but look at her new acquaintance. Mai reciprocated the act and smiled. Natsuki was shocked for a second, Mai looked as if she was about to start crying.

Suddenly, she heard a familiar voice. "Welcome, Kuga-san. We've been waiting."

Director Ken beamed with happiness. He was glad she had finally came. She was filled with promise and potential and he had vowed not let it go to waste. Ken looked at the orange-haired woman next to Natsuki and his heart involuntarily skipped a beat. He had found this jewel the day after Natsuki's audition.

"And Tokiha-san. It is a pleasure to welcome both of you into our small family."

A redhead chose to spoke out at that moment. "Hey, hurry it up! I've got some drinks here!"

"Nao-chan. Why don't you introduce yourself?"

"Don't call me that while we're in the studio! Just because my mom and your mom know each other doesn't mean you can just-"

"This is Yuuki Nao. She can be quite troublesome at times, but please try and put up with her."

"Argh, Ken-"

"Nice to meet you Yuuki-san. Ken-sama."

The younger redhead stopped. "Um, nice to meet you too, Tokiha-san."

Looking at Natsuki, Nao nodded politely and said, "Welcome to the fam, Kuga-san."

"Ah, thanks."

Greetings and small talk were exchanged briefly between cast members and staff alike. Nearly everyone but the staff were newcomers so there were many names to remember. Natsuki inwardly groaned. She had never been one to initiate any conversations unless forced, so remembering these many names meant a lot of work for her.

She saw an opportunity to escape when everyone was preoccupied with Ken's welcoming speech. No one was watching the door. So she quietly stepped out.

"Ah... this feels much better. Might not be fresh air, but heck, it's better than being in that stuffy room." She walked toward the elevator to check out the rest of the building.

_Ding_.

Natsuki's first reaction was to jump back. She had been jolted out of her thoughts, but didn't quite make it out of the way when someone bumped into her.

"-It couldn't be helped. We couldn't do anything about the traffic—ah!"

Natsuki fell backwards while pulling the stranger down with her, becoming a soft landing for the stranger. Surprised crimson stared into emerald.

"Ah. This is unseeming of me."

When Natsuki blinked again, the other woman had already recovered and was brushing off dirt from her lavender skirt.

"Are you hurt?"

Long black hair, shining a dark blue under the fluorescent light, slipped back as Natsuki looked up. Her breath involuntarily hitched.

"Um, no, I'm okay I think-"

"Ah, that's good. Let's go, Hiroshi."

"Of course."

And like that, the stranger with honey locks gracefully brushed past Natsuki.

It took a few moments to recover from the fall, but when she did, annoyance bubbled through Natsuki. That woman had just cut her off! Worst of all, she had given Natsuki a detached look as she walked away. Natsuki didn't like her haughtiness, if that could be called haughtiness. After all, hadn't she asked Natsuki of her well being?

"Kuga-san! Are you okay? I was wondering where you were. We took our eyes off you for a second, and you vanished!"

"Oh, Tokiha-san. This is the second time you've asked me that. Once in the elevator and now here."  
A smile appeared on Natsuki's face.

"Haha. That's right."

As Mai helped Natsuki from the ground, she gave Natsuki a look of disbelief.  
"How did you end up on the ground anyway?"

Natsuki only shook her head as she said, "Don't worry about it. I just kinda... fell."

Mai laughed. "Yeah, just kinda."

As the two of them walked into the room again, Mai tapped Natsuki on the shoulder. "Oh yeah, have you heard of the acclaimed Fujino Shizuru?"

"You mean the actress who got like a gazillion awards? Like basically the hottest actress out there? No, of course I haven't."

"Yes!- What? You haven't? Wait. That's sarcasm... isn't it?"

"Well, yeah I've heard of her. I just haven't bothered to watch any of her movies or films. To be honest, I haven't actually seen her face..."

"And why not?"

"Dunno. Just don't have time."

"You peg me as the video gamer type."

"You hit it."

Mai sighed as she looked at Natsuki.

"I feel like I've known you forever."

"Oh, me too. You're the motherly type, aren't you?"

"... Is it that easy to see through me?"

The two exchanged words in a friendly banter as they neared Ken. Natsuki caught a glimpse of the back of the person he was talking to. Her light brown hair seemed familiar. Ken looked up from his conversation and smiled.

"And these two, my dear, are my jewels of the night."

A soft accented voice danced through the air. "Jewels?"

Now, that voice was definitely familiar.

"You!"

"Ah yes? Oh, you're that stranger-san I bumped into just now."

"Stranger-san!"

"Oh, I see that you've already met. Kuga-san, this is our company's diamond- or shall I say, amethyst- Fujino-san." Ken winked good-humouredly at Shizuru.

"F-Fujino-san? You mean THE Fujino-san? Like, the... the... THE Fujino-san!" A startled Natsuki stood there agape with disbelief.

"Kuga-san, I didn't know you liked my name so much. Perhaps you would like it as your own?" Shizuru slyly winked at the still gaping Natsuki.

"W-What!" Natsuki was horribly baffled.

* * *

_Aaaaaaaand that is where I will stop for now. Hehe._

_Thank you all for giving me such great feedback!__  
I decided to give you guys a quicker update since I was so horrible about it with my other stories.  
But worry not! I still haven't forgotten about Unexpected! I just love this one more at the moment. _

_Thanks for returning! _

_I hope to see you all soon. _


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